Journeys of Don, Angie & Cookie

A frank discussion about Medical Offices, Medicare & Current Affairs

2010-07-21T21:57:00Z

Ok - when I say "current affairs", this has nothing to do with Tiger Woods. It has everything to do with the current state our economy is, the problems we are facing with healthcare, the idiotic decisions by physicians, and the problems being faced by Medicare patients and those that will be faced by those that are 63 and 64 years old today.

First - let me say that we're all in good health and we had a very fun family reunion on Angie's side of the family.   Current news includes the fact that we have our house for sale (special pricing at shop.donself.com ) for anyone wanting to spend $225,000 on a beautiful home within walking distance to 4 schools with a great pool, guest house and more... Ok - a little shameless sales plug doesn't hurt.   Angie's parents (Jim and Ann) are looking to buy a place close to us (they have their home for sale in Early, Texas) and last - but not least is that we have a contract on 20 acres about 20 miles southwest of where we are now - literally on top of a mountain. Ok - the mountain is only 200 feet high but it is the close to the highest elevation in Cherokee County and if we get the property - we'll build a house facing the southwest with a panoramic view of at least 12 miles in about 3 directions - so it's the closest thing that I'll ever get to living on a mountain. The town is called Mount Selman - so it's legal for me to say it's a mountain. <grin>

Ok - business is slow and part of that is due to the absolute moronic decisions being made by Congress (I'm ready to get rid of 534 members today if I could - but I do want to keep Louie Gohmert as he is the ONLY one there that I trust - and that includes Kay Bailey and Cornyn!). It's also due to the ignorance of physicians and their staff that are hurting them by telling them to get rid of Medicare patients. Ok - Perhaps "get rid of" is not the right term to use. Many office managers, billers and even short sighted administrators of national and state medical and osteopathic physician associations are hurting the physicians with their bad advice.    I'll give you a little background first.

Prior to 1987, Medicare would follow whatever the private insurance carriers were doing, but that changed in 1987. That was when Medicare took advantage of the STUPIDITY of the AMA and instituted for the first time in this country - a limit on how much a physician could charge. The government doesn't limit what any other private business in this country can charge - but they effectively set the stage with physicians and the AMA let them do it because it didn't hurt them one bit. I am of the belief that the AMA looks out for the AMA and doesn't give a dang about the physicians or the members or the patients in this country. If it puts more money in their own pocket - halleluja and screw everyone else.    So - in 1985 the AMA asked for a "voluntary" fee freeze by all physicians and the physicians complied and then in 1987, Medicare came out with limits on how much physicians could legally charge - based on the previous 18 months history of fees charged by each physician.   Tadaaa!   So - the private carriers saw the government do it and then they started in 1989 sending out letters to their policyholders saying their doctor had "overcharged" or charged more than the Usual, customary and reasonable amount for the services they did" It did not matter that the patient had no idea that there was no such thing as a uniform UCR - as every carrier made up their own. They just heard "your doctor is screwing you" so they got upset. As a result in 1991, those same patients voted in someone who was going to "reform" healthcare and make the doctors accountable and honest. So - that unscrupulous jerk put his wife in charge of revamping healthcare and making it into socialized medicine.   Fortunately - the way he did that caused people to wake up and stop her - so she didn't accomplish anything.   So - then we had a couple of terms of Clinton that really didn't hurt our country too much - other than businesses paying more in taxes and our military that was stripped - but the healthcare arena stayed the same during his term with carriers slowly convincing physicians to sign contracts that anyone with a business degree would have torn up.   What many did not see happen in 1996 was the fact that Clinton - along with a republican led Congress passed a law that required a "sustained growth rate" of Medicare payments - which in fact - actually meant a budget neutral growth rate. Congress knew that in 2011, we would start having the baby boomers (those born after our soldiers and sailors returned home from World War II) hit Medicare and that would be a huge influx into the Medicare program.   So - they designed something to slowly reduce the amount Medicare was spending and that would begin in the future president's term. That took place in 2003, and Bush and the Congress felt the pressure - so they 'forestalled" the reduction of the 1.3% that year. Then in 2004 - they again did not want to upset the doctors and hospitals, so they did it again.   Each year - the reduction was not eliminated - but delayed - so it started accruing.   So - the first year, the Medicare allowed conversion factor was supposed to reduce by less than 2% and then next year when they delayed it - that meant that when it took effect it would be over 2% and over 3% the following year, etc... By this year - by federal law, the Medicare allowed (how much the physicians are paid) was supposed to reduce over 21%.   Congress was terrified that if they allowed this to happen that at least half of the physicians in the country would no longer see Medicare patients. But - since they couldn't get their heads out of their butts while they were pointing fingers at the BP people for spilling oil in the gulf (never let a good catastrophe go to waste when it comes to press time), they couldn't come up with a solution that made everyone look good.

So - last December - they delayed the reduction for five months - giving them five months to fix it.   Of course, they did NOTHING for the first 4 months on it at ALL! Then by May - when they started thinking about it - they had a great catastrophe to get in the way.   So - the government department over Medicare decided to help by holding all Medicare checks for the first 2 weeks in June to give Congress time to act. But - those Congressional members had to take some extra time off for this or that and then they couldn't come up with a solution in time. Once again, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services) tried to help (help who???) by announcing they would hold Medicare checks for one more week. then, towards the last part of June - both chambers of Congress finally finished their tug of war between Pelosi and Reid trying to prove who had the most power and passed something - delaying it another 18 months.    That would take time for the Medicare payers to get their computers right so they had until July 1st to start issuing checks to the doctors.    Think about this.

No doctors got any checks in June for any Medicare services done in June. This doesn't mean a big deal to the Pediatrician doctors - as very few of their patients have Medicare.   But - what does it mean for the family doctor or internal medicine doctor or the geriatrician or the doctors visiting nursing homes?   What if you owned a business with alot of employees and alot of expensive supplies (drugs, equipment, lab tests, etc) that you had to buy and your income stopped - but you had to keep paying everyone?    Now - you get a feel for what your doctors have been going through.     Did you hear about this on CNN or FoxNews or in your paper? heck no!

Now - while we've seen all of this coming, I've been a voice in the wilderness telling physicians to see MORE Medicare patients and trying to convince them that Medicare patients are the most profitable they have.   While I've been telling them this - they've been listening to their office managers and billers and associations tell them to get rid of Medicare patients as they believe Medicare is one of the lowest paying (Medicaid is definitely by far the lowest paying).    The doctors listen to their office manager explain that Don must be wrong or smoking something he shouldn't and they'll give them an example of a Medicare payment.    They will show the doctor that the doctor is paid $52 for a level 3 established Medicare patient visit and they are paid $67 for a Blue Cross patient for the same service. The doctor looks at the $52 in one hand the $67 in the other hand and then doesn't take the time to let me explain why that is deceiving.

Since 2001, Medicare has been trying to get physicians to change how they practice to achieve better medical outcomes.   To accomplish this, they have moved massive amounts of money from the areas of office visits and procedures into evidenced based medicine, such as clinical lab testing and diagnostic testing.   Unfortunately - they did not tell the physicians about this move.   They just put alot more money into select areas and expected the physicians and their managers to figure it out - but they didn't.   Physicians kept seeing reduced payments for office visits (when compared to the national inflation rates) and reduced payments for procedures and did not realize that Medicare was MOVING money instead of reducing it. In fact, from 1996 to 2009, the federal government increased PHYSICIAN expenditures by more than $14 Billion per year. it almost DOUBLED IN THOSE 14 YEARS.   Yet during the first 10 years of this century, physicians kept feeling the pinch and had to draw money out of savings, reduce their own salaries, cut back on employees, offer less benefits to employees, reduce hours, etc... trying to survive.    My partner Keith and I have, for more than 3 years, been showing the physicians that would listen to us how they could easily increase their income by $ Hundreds of thousands per year while improving patient outcomes by following Medicare's new guidelines - but the vast majority were not listening to us.   So - those that have listened would benefit.    Sometimes they would come back and admit that they waited too long before listening, such as Dr. Mike Benavides in Dallas, Texas. Mike and his wife Cindy had been struggling for the first part of this decade like many other physicians and had to take out loans to cover payroll, lay off essential staff, reduce hours and sometimes go months without taking a personal paycheck.   After he listened to us, he increased his income by more than $150,000 per year by following Medicare's guidelines and he said "I wish I had acted on what you were telling me years ago instead of ignoring it".   Today - he's in great shape because he listened.

Last week I had a physician who I've known for about 20 years say "I had been reading what you've been saying for many years now Don, but when you said you could help me, I though you meant by $1,000 to $2,000 per month and did not realize you meant by $25,000 to $30,000 per month in increased profits. Now it's too late for me since I can never work again due to this disability but i wish I had acted back then".   That is Dean Gafford, DO in DeSoto, Texas. Dean had called me because he wanted someone to take over his practice since he can't practice anymore.   Another consultant and I put together a package for the doctor about to buy Dean's practice and in a 4 way conference call, Dean saw what we could actually do and he was surprised.

Keith and I have helped one doctor after another increase their income by $100,000 to $400,000 per year - so easily - just by following the new guidelines when they listen to us.   From Dr's Gastorf in Durant OK, to Tasha Wallace in Lehigh Acres Florida to Hector Lopez in El Paso to Jeff Lindenbaum in Pennsylvania to Dr. Lomas in Florida to David Braunreiter near Houston, Texas to so many others. I have dozens of letters from physicians showing what we did for them and every one of them point out that their patients are getting so much better care today than they did before.   Many of them reference patients who are ALIVE today thanks to what we taught the doctors - and while we could do so much more good - we run into the know-it-all office managers who are driving their physicians into bankruptcy. We run into the physicians who want to save 5 cents so they totally ignore the $10 they would get.

As an example, in May, I did a diagnostic analysis with a doctor and I showed the doctor the guidelines that Medicare and other carriers have and how often they want the doctor to do specific tests. Medicare and carriers have realized that it makes financial sense to pay $115 today to a physician to do an 8 minute test to detect peripheral arterial disease early enough so that the patient doesn't have to have an amputation of a toe or foot. When you consider that 33% of patients over 50 years old with diabetes have P.A.D. and that less than 10% of them are being diagnosed (per the National Institute of Health numbers), it makes sense to save the $7,000 they would pay for an amputation by paying $115.   So - I did with this doctor the same thing I've been doing for years with every one of the doctors I mentioned earlier and then asked the doctor "If you were doing this in your office, how many a day would you do and be conservative". He gave me very conservative numbers. Then, we looked at other diagnostics and some lab tests and he said that he needed to be doing these.   He agreed that it would be good for his patients and that these did meet the current guidelines (I showed them to him on the Medicare website).    As he gave me numbers, I would sometimes reduce them to be super ultra conservative.   When we finished, he agreed that after ALL expenses, by following the current guidelines, he would increase his net (net is after all expenses) monthly income by $17,312 per month.   He was excited about it and gave me his tax id and social so I could run it by the leasing agent and he could check with his CPA to make sure of the tax breaks and he wanted to start helping his patients. I also gave him 7 letters from other physicians similar to his practice that had done the same thing and increased their income by more than $200,000 per year and saved lives.   I called him a week later.   He didn't return my call. I called a week after that and sent an email. No return call.   A week later, his office manager said he was comparing prices and thought he could get the pulmonary function test equipment for $2,000 less and he would check back with me.   Last week he said he was waiting on his bank to see if they could get a better interest rate than the leasing company and I know for a fact that the leasing company we went to has rates almost equal to any bank in the country.   Ok - do the math. He has spent 2 months trying to save $2,000 and maybe save another $400 in the interest.   In that 2 months, using his conservative numbers he would have made another $34,624 but he hasn't because he's been busy trying to compare interest rates. He'll probably wait another month and by then it will be more than $50,000 he lost due to ignorance. yes - ignorance!   Forget the money for a minute. He pointed out that he was NOT running ABIs on his patients and I wonder how many of his patients have P.A.D. that are undiagnosed and by the time he acts - will need amputations of toes?    He was not running PFTs - yet 20% of Americans suffer from pulmonary dysfunction and COPD is the 4th leading cause of death. He is not performing heart rate variability tests and we KNOW that 30% of CHF patients are over beta blocked and 14% of Americans have orthostasis and between 11% and 14% of seniors with diabeteos suffer from silent ischemia.   I could go on and on but you get the idea. It's doctors like that which drive me mad.

One of the letters that I received from a physician in Malvern, Arkansas points how much he has changed how he practices by following the national guidelines that I showed him. He doesn't center on the fact that we've increased his net profits by $Hundreds of thousands per year over the past 2 years but he points out what his patients experienced as a result of it.    i give out these letters with the physician's phone numbers - yet so few of my prospects call them. They would rather spend their time trying to save $100 on the price of the equipment or listen to their office manager tell them I'm wrong instead of calling physicians who have proved that I'm right.

So - this is me spouting off.    I'll keep fighting to get these doctors to listen and some will and their patients will do better and the arrogant fools who do not listen will continue to pull money out of their savings trying to stay afloat and the battle will continue.

have a great day!

Immigration Problem - or is it more than that?

2010-05-16T21:27:00Z

Charlene Burgett sent me an email today that came from an editorial that gave a pretty good synopsis of the problem we're having with the illegal aliens from Mexico coming in at such a high rate. It said:

"some people are protesting that the US might protect it's own borders and make it harder to sneak into this country, and once here, to stay indefinitely.   Let's see if we understand the people protesting, but bringing to a level even they can understand...

Let's say that I break into your house and when you discover I'm there - you insist I leave.

But I say, "No! I like it here and it's better than my house. I've made the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry (the things you don't like doing) and I'm hard working and honest (except for breaking into your house) and if you object, then I'll get people around the country to protest. The protesters will say:

You're required to let me stay in your house
You're required to feed me
You're required to add me to your family's insurance plan and you pay the increased premiums
You're required to educate my kids
You're required to give me money so that I can buy candy, soda and other things
You're also required to let my husband stay also since he'll do yard work that your husband does but doesn't enjoy'
You're required to let my brother come in as well - even though he won't work - but you still have to support him too

It's only fair because you have a nicer house than I do and I'm just trying to better myself.   There is nothing you can do about me living in your house without you being called selfish, prejudiced, racist and a bigot.   Oh yeah - I demand that YOU learn MY language too so that we can communicate because I shouldn't have to learn yours as that would be unfair.

Would YOU object? let's get the addresses of the do-gooder protesters and see if they would object.

Ok - the real reason why the immigration problems scares the crap out of me is simple.   We have FBI, TSA, CIA, NSA, Homeland Security, Interpol, Treasury, Secret Service and every other law enforcement agency watching the airport and they won't let anyone come into the country with a pocketknife on an airplane through our airports.

But - we have thousands of people a day coming across the border, some with 1,000 pounds of drugs, some with cases of drugs and we have no idea who they are.   How many of them are from Iran or Pakistan or Saudi Arabia or some other country instead of poor, hardworking, honest (other than breaking in) Mexicans? How many of them could have a suitcase nuke or C4 or some other weapon of mass destruction? How many have already come over and how many will we get in this country before they get the word to not be a sleeper any longer?

We have an administration in DC of "not-my-faulters" who want to blame everyone else (It was Bush that did this or Cheney who did that and I am not at fault) instead of stepping up to the plate.   We have a governor here in Texas who is NOT using our state troops along the border now - but even if he did - would Arnie in California? Oh wait - Arnie has given everything away to the illegal aliens so they don't have any money any longer to pay troops or law enforcement.   Arizona is doing what they can, but how about New Mexico? Oh - that won't work either as they have Bill One-World-UN-Government Richardson as governor, so he is probably building a super highway for illegals to use.    So, even if we do succeed at stopping the illegal flow in Texas and Arizona - the bad guys will still get across in Arnie or Bill's land - which is why we need the federal government (uh - isn't that THEIR JOB????? to protect our borders?) to step in and do something.

Let's not forget the pandering that the liberals are doing to the President of Mexico. You remember TWO FACE Calderon (it's ok for us to have a tough immigration policy - but it's unfair and racist for the gringos in the USA to do it).

I haven't been a big proponent of Texas secession - although it is legal per US law if Texas decides to do it. But - if things continue the way they are, then perhaps it's something that should be considered after all. Interestingly, alot more people in Texas have started talking about it as well.

I guess we'll have to wait until we have a big bang (this is my big bang theory, by the way) and thousands or tens of thousands of Americans care killed by a radical islamist who came over through Mexico with a weapon of mass destruction before the morons in DC and specific governors get called on the carpet.   That could be the powderkeg that actually causes some changes to be made. I don't want it to happen - but I am convinced it WILL happen.   There is no doubt in my mind that the camel jockys are not dumb enough to have thought about this over the past couple of years. They see how wide open our borders are and they want to strike us. It's risky to come in through airports - but they have a better than 90% chance on getting across undetected from Mexico. Is anyone reading this dumb enough to think that they haven't thought of it too?

Keep this blog or copy and paste it to someone else and you remember this day when it happens. It may not be this year or it may be a year from September on the 10th anniversary. Symbolism means alot to those radical Islamists, so that date may be significant to them.   Obama, Perry, Richardson & Arnie were warned.   Everyone was and it looks like Arizona is the only one really taking a positive step. We really need to replace Perry with Greg Abbot here in Texas and I'm really sorry that he didn't run instead of Kay Bailey - but we really needed him where he is to tango with Obama about the healthcare issue. Maybe in 4 years?

A LITTLE HUMOR

2010-01-11T14:10:00Z

I have decided to write a book, and in preparation, I"ve reviewed my monthly newsletters that I've written (Just those in the last 7 years) to make notes on things I want to make sure I cover. While doing this, I came across a few jokes that I've had in those newsletters and decided to share those with the readers of my blog. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

SOMEONE MIGHT MISUNDERSTAND…
We were dressed and ready to go out for the New Years Eve Party. We turned on a night light, turned the answering machine on, covered our pet parakeet and put the cat in the backyard.

We phoned the local cab company and requested a taxi, since we might choose to have a few drinks. The taxi arrived and we opened the front door to leave the house.   The cat we put out in the yard, scoots back into the house. We didn't want the cat shut in the house, because she always tries to eat the bird.

My wife goes out to the taxi, while I went inside to get the cat. The cat runs upstairs, with me in hot pursuit.     Waiting in the cab, my wife doesn't want the driver to know that the house will be empty for the night. So, she explains to the taxi driver that I will be out soon, 'He's just going upstairs to say Good-bye to my mother.'

“A few minutes later, I get into the cab, not knowing what my wife had told the driver. “Sorry I took so long,” I said, as we drove away.   “She was hiding under the bed. I had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out!   She tried to make it to the closet, so I grabbed her by the neck. Then, I had to wrap her in a blanket to keep her from scratching me. But it worked! I hauled her downstairs and threw her out into the back yard!'

The cab driver hit a parked car

GETTING OLDER MEANS…
•    You don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along.
•    Getting lucky means you find your car in the parking lot.
•    An all-nighter means not getting up to urinate!

Two gentlemen were talking, and one said, "Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly."

The other man said, "What is the name of the restaurant?"

The first man thought and thought and finally said, "What is the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know... that's red and has thorns."

"Do you mean a rose?"

"Yes, that's the one," replied the man. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled, "Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?"

Employment application blanks always ask 'who is to be notified in case of an emergency.' I think you should write, "A Good Doctor!"

“We had a patient call in yesterday morning, obviously still half asleep, to tell us that he was going to be late. The reason? He had left a message with our answering service that we were to call him in the morning and wake him for his appointment, so it was OUR FAULT!”

A woman brought her baby to see a doctor, and he determined right away that the baby had an earache. He wrote a prescription for ear drops. In the directions he wrote, "Put two drops in right ear every four hours" and he abbreviated "right" as an R with a circle around it. Several days passed, and the woman returned with her baby, complaining that the baby still had an earache, and his little bottom was getting really greasy with all those drops of oil. The doctor looked at the bottle of ear drops and sure enough, the pharmacist had typed the following instructions on the label: "Put two drops in R ear every four hours."

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
   Include Your Children when Baking Cookies
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   Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms
   Miners Refuse to Work after Death
   Eye Drops Off Shelf
   Teachers Strike Idle Kids
   Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
   Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
   New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

A midget fortuneteller who escapes from prison is a small medium at large.

Recently, I was diagnosed with AAADD: Age Activated Attention Deficit
Disorder. This is how it manifests: I decided to wash my car. As I started
toward the garage, I spot the mail on the hall table. I should, go through
the mail before I wash the car. I lay the keys on the table, put the junk
mail in the trash can by the table, and notice that the trash can is full.
So, I put the bills back on the table and decide to take out the trash
first.

Since I'm going to be near the mailbox, when I take out the trash, I might
as well pay the bills first.
I see my checkbook on the table, but there is only one check left. My extra
checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk, where I find the
bottle of juice that I had been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks,
but first I need to push the juice aside so that I don't accidentally knock
it over. But the juice is getting warm, and should be, put in the
refrigerator to keep it cold.

Heading toward the kitchen with the juice, a vase of flowers on the counter
catches my eye. They need to be watered. I set the juice on the counter, and
find my glasses, for which I've been searching all morning. I had better
put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water, and
suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. Tonight
when we sit down to watch TV, we will be looking for the remote, but nobody
will remember that it's on the kitchen table. I should put it back in the
den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I splash some water
on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I put the remote
back down on the table, and get some towels to wipe up the spill.

Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At
the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a
warm bottle of juice sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered,
there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the remote, I
can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
I'm trying to figure out, why nothing got done today. It's baffling because
I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.

CHURCH BULLETINS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

2. Announcement in a church bulletin for a national PRAYER &FASTING Conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals."

3. The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."

4. Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

5. "Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands."

6. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

7. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.

8. Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

9. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

10. Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.

11. During the absence of our Pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.

12. The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy." Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

13. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell? Come early and listen to our choir practice.

14. Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

15. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

16. Place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered. Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch.

17. The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.

18. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 P.M. - prayer and medication to follow.

19. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement .

20. This evening at 7 P.M. there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

21. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S.. is done.

22. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

23. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use back door.

24. The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The Congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

25. Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

26. The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."

27. Our next song is "Angels We Have Heard Get High"

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

2009-12-23T14:40:00Z

With only 2 days before Christmas

and not all of the shopping is finished

You've probably spent more than you should

with the true reason for Christmas diminished

It's not about the gifts and presents,

or the amount of drinks you'll intake

at the party with the employees in the office

Or the cookies and goodies you'll bake.

The season is about what happened

More than two thousand years ago

that has changed the entire planet

and given hope to those in the know

It wasn't the elf named Santa

that came to take away

the burden of all humans

and caused them to bow and pray

Nor was it about determining

Of who's naughty or trying to be nice

Because we could never meet the measure

or afford to pay the price

So God sent all humans a gift

In a small bundle of joy

to a couple named Mary and Joseph

in the form of a beautiful boy

He wasn't born in a hospital

It wasn't even an inn

He was probably born in a cave

That happened alot back then

There was no doctor or nurse

or even a midwife there to aid

the birth of this holy infant

who's birth would not be delayed

A crib was not available

and his parents both agreed

to lay the precious baby

in a tray for animal feed

That night was very special

and in fields not far away

shepherds were watching their flock

when an angel appeared to say

Fear not my appearing to you

I bring you news of joy

Christ the Lord is among you

He was born a baby boy

So, the shepherds went to visit

the child in a manger lay

and told all they came upon

what the angels had come to say

So God had sent his son

to earth for a purpose that night

to offer us salvation

which we can't be earned through might

We can try to be perfect and holy

but we'll fail because we sin

so Jesus is our only chance

if heaven we want to get in

So time is constantly moving

and the clock will not be slowed

So you need to make a decision

or you'll get what you are owed

You cannot earn salvation

it's a gift that can't be earned

therefore it cannot be taken away

nor can it be returned

To receive the gift is simple,

accept Jesus as savior and Lord

and you'll have eternity in heaven

His blood has provided the reward

So if you have any questions

or you wish for us to pray,

Just dial 903 372-7529

and you can have those blessings....today.

czars of USA

2009-10-29T03:44:00Z

This article from Thomas Sowell appeared this week:

Dismantling America (Thomas Sowell)
Townhall.com ^ | October 27, 2009 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on Monday, October 26, 2009 11:00:52 PM by jazusamo

Just one year ago, would you have believed that an unelected government official, not even a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate but simply one of the many "czars" appointed by the President, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent?

Did you think that another "czar" would be talking about restricting talk radio? That there would be plans afloat to subsidize newspapers-- that is, to create a situation where some newspapers' survival would depend on the government liking what they publish?

Did you imagine that anyone would even be talking about having a panel of so-called "experts" deciding who could and could not get life-saving medical treatments?

Scary as that is from a medical standpoint, it is also chilling from the standpoint of freedom. If you have a mother who needs a heart operation or a child with some dire medical condition, how free would you feel to speak out against an administration that has the power to make life and death decisions about your loved ones?

Does any of this sound like America?

How about a federal agency giving school children material to enlist them on the side of the president? Merely being assigned to sing his praises in class is apparently not enough.

How much of America would be left if the federal government continued on this path? President Obama has already floated the idea of a national police force, something we have done without for more than two centuries.

We already have local police forces all across the country and military forces for national defense, as well as the FBI for federal crimes and the National Guard for local emergencies. What would be the role of a national police force created by Barack Obama, with all its leaders appointed by him? It would seem more like the brown shirts of dictators than like anything American.

How far the President will go depends of course on how much resistance he meets. But the direction in which he is trying to go tells us more than all his rhetoric or media spin.

Barack Obama has not only said that he is out to "change the United States of America," the people he has been associated with for years have expressed in words and deeds their hostility to the values, the principles and the people of this country.

Jeremiah Wright said it with words: "God damn America!" Bill Ayers said it with bombs that he planted. Community activist goons have said it with their contempt for the rights of other people.

Among the people appointed as czars by President Obama have been people who have praised enemy dictators like Mao, who have seen the public schools as places to promote sexual practices contrary to the values of most Americans, to a captive audience of children.

Those who say that the Obama administration should have investigated those people more thoroughly before appointing them are missing the point completely. Why should we assume that Barack Obama didn't know what such people were like, when he has been associating with precisely these kinds of people for decades before he reached the White House?

Nothing is more consistent with his lifelong patterns than putting such people in government-- people who reject American values, resent Americans in general and successful Americans in particular, as well as resenting America's influence in the world.

Any miscalculation on his part would be in not thinking that others would discover what these stealth appointees were like. Had it not been for the Fox News Channel, these stealth appointees might have remained unexposed for what they are. Fox News is now high on the administration's enemies list.

Nothing so epitomizes President Obama's own contempt for American values and traditions like trying to ram two bills through Congress in his first year-- each bill more than a thousand pages long-- too fast for either of them to be read, much less discussed. That he succeeded only the first time says that some people are starting to wake up. Whether enough people will wake up in time to keep America from being dismantled, piece by piece, is another question-- and the biggest question for this generation.

THE JOYS OF SMALL TOWN TEXAS

2009-10-22T14:19:00Z

Many people, especially those raised and living in Detroit, NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, etc... have no idea of the freedom of living in a small town in Texas.    We may have one murder every few years (I can't remember when the last one we had here was), and you don't always remember to lock the doors on your truck or even your house when you go to bed - and that doesn't bother you much.

If you have never experienced small town Texas, you may want to check out a video called TUNA TEXAS as it's a play with only 2 characters playing all of the people in a small fictitious town in west Texas.   Now - we live in East Texas that is different in geography, but the way people are here in Texas is pretty much the same in the small towns.

For instance, this morning on the Ranch (that's a local radio station), they were talking about the Hog Festival coming up this weekend in Ben Wheeler, Texas (about 30 miles from me) and the big parade they'll be having this weekend.

No - Not THAT kind of hog.

This kind of Hog!

They described all of the preparations being made at the Morris Feed Store for Saturday when they crown Miss Hog 2009, which is a local beauty contest. Now - can you imagine looking at someone's resume where they proudly listed themselves as winning the Miss Hog 2009 pagent? They talked about the greased pig run they'll have this weekend (Saturday afternoon) and the Corn on the Cob eating contest as well. More than likely, the mayor of Ben Wheeler will get up and make his usual announcements and on Saturday night, there will be the street dance where you see some of the best Two-Stepping that you've ever seen.

I know that you city slickers up in NYC would rather go spend $300 to see a Broadway Play of a bunch of people you don't even know by name get up and perform, while you sit there drinking fancy drinks - but until you've been to a real live Hog Festival or a Bluegrass Festival in Texas - you haven't REALLY lived. I'll tell you something else. At just about any Hog Festival or Bluegrass festival, a woman can get up and go the ladies room and not worry about anyone touching her purse sitting in her seat while she's gone. Can you say that about some of the shows you go to in those big cities? I doubt it. Of course, we know that same woman in Texas probably has a 38 in a holster under her shirt too - and that could be the difference.

if you haven't ever seen Tuna Texas - check out the DVD or video and I promise you that if you even HAVE any relatives living in a small town in Texas - you will recognize some of them in the way these 2 men play those characters. on top of that - if you haven't ever visited a Hog festival or Bluegrass Festival - you get up off your butt and come on down to East Texas this weekend. Oh yeah - on Saturday night, I won't be at the Hog Festival as my dad, 2 of my sons and my grandson will be with me at the Lone Star Dirt Track watching the last stock car races this year at our track. That beats any ole Broadway play any day of the week!

H1N1 PREVENTION - GARGLE WITH LISTERINE

2009-10-11T20:00:00Z

Like you, I've received the email about how to prevent H1N1 (at least a dozen times), and I've done some research on this doctor and the American and British journals to see if anyone can substantiate or refute the gargle and proliferation claims. I've also done a little research on the credibility of Dr. Goyal and it seems that he is what the email claims.

I cannot find anything that refutes it and it seems that everything I have found supports the idea that gargling with Listerine or warm salt water will reduce your chances of experiencing any symptoms if you are exposed to H1N1. I also found it it very interesting that Scope is not approved by the FDA to kill germs to the any degree, in the way Listerine is, so the type of mouthwash does make a difference. Here is the advice from Dr. Goyal.

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital, Bombay Hospital, Saifee Hospital, Tata Memorial etc.

Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all of you to know

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.

5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm

So, I am recommending to my family that everyone adopts a prophylactic approach to the H1N1 by making it a point to gargle at least twice a day with Listerine. It's important that you not just use it as a mouthwash, but that you also GARGLE with it.

Don Oct 10, 2009

OBAMA LIED TO CONGRESS.... TO AMERICA..... MULTIPLE TIMES

2009-10-09T23:24:00Z

On September 9th, President Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress as well as America. His words were "Illegal immigrants will not be covered under the plans being reformed".      In the same session, he said "30 Million Americans have no health care coverage". Later, in the same speech, he said "46 Million Americans have no health insurance".

These are quotes that you can look up on the whitehouse.gov website for his speech.

Obama said, immediately before Rep. Joe Wilson rudely cried out "You Lie" (which he shouldn't have done in that forum), that "Illegal immigrants will not be covered under the plans being reformed".      Yet, on September 10, the Congressional Budget Office released the following statement "H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitizens—whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently—participating."     This is the bill that will be voted on next week.

Friends of mine have said that we should wait until the bill is finalized before we voice our displeasure.   How many MINUTES do you think will lapse from the time that Reid or Pelosi makes their final changes before they FORCE a vote next week?    Not hours... Minutes.

Also - as I've shown you previously - per the New York Times, the number of Americans that are not presently covered turns out to be closer to 20 million instead of the 30 Million and 46 Million numbers that Obama was throwing around the podium in his address to Congress.

And yet - we are still supposed to believe him?   Do you remember when he said "Nobody is talking about cutting Medicare benefits.”   Yet, HR3200 states specifically in Section 1161 that $156.3 billion in Medicare Advantage will be cut. Obama lied!

Sorry people, but I'm getting really frustrated at stupidity. I can't fix stupidity. I can help educate to reduce ignorance, but if you choose to remain stupid, there is nothing I can do about that.

A Revelation

2009-10-09T02:35:00Z

This has been an interesting week and one that has opened my eyes to some things, as well.   Yesterday, we buried my aunt Molly and I have to say it was the most unconventional funeral that I have ever attended - and strangely enough - that was what Molly had wanted. There was no preacher. There was no one officiating the funeral.   It was held at the funeral home on the grounds of the cemetery and it was basically one family member or friend giving a testament to my aunt, after another.   It was exactly as Molly would have wanted it.   The room was full.   Afterwards, we accompanied the casket to the gravesite and placed her body next to those of my grandparents, her son, who was killed back in '93, and a few other family members and it was very brief.

Afterward, many of us went to a Hyatt Hotel and had a celebration of her life. I had put together a powerpoint of about 150 photos from her life and it played on a loop on the screen and everyone visited for several hours and ate too much. Angie and I had some great visits with both of Molly's daughters, their families, a couple of my cousins (I really enjoyed getting to see Phillip and Andy), and everyone else at the funeral.

Since Molly passed away last week, I've had a real burden in my heart about my failure to talk to her about Jesus. I've had the opportunity to do so (something like 28 years since I truly accepted Him as my savior), but I didn't do it. It's honestly easier for me to get up in front of 900 physicians and teach a 4 hour seminar than it is for me to talk to my own family members about Him and I do not know why.    Well, maybe I do. I don't really care what a stranger thinks of me, but I do care about what my own family members think and that is really stupid, in so many ways. It's also shameful. Jesus was prepared to go through ridicule, physical torture and even death for me and I'm feeling hesitant to have someone think odd of me? Pathetic is the word that comes to mind. So, I took the first step, at the funeral reception. I had typed up a couple of pages about how Molly's death has affected me in making me see the realization that I had wasted opportunities to talk to her about Jesus. So, I wrote a couple of pages about my feelings and I handed those out to people at the reception as they were leaving and I asked them to read it when they were alone.    I also gave them my phone number and encouraged them to call me if they wanted me to pray with them or to answer any questions.   Yes - that may be the coward's way of handling it - but at least it is a step in the right direction.

I also learned some things at the funeral to confirm some suspicions about my mother's siblings and how they've died and/or are now dying.    I had previously thought my mother died from COPD, almost 3 years ago. I had thought that her older brother and older sister had also died from COPD.   Molly died from IPF, which is Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, which is a rare disease of the lungs.   She was given 3 to 5 years a little more than 5 years ago. in fact, she lived 5 years and 4 days.   Molly was 2 days past her 59th birthday.    My uncle Bill also has it.   He was given 3 to 5 years, about 3 years ago.   My uncle Jerry told me that he has COPD and he is on full oxygen.    Sybil (another of mom's older sisters) has COPD.    Of the 7 siblings - ALL of them either have COPD or IPF. When you research IPF, you find that this RARE disease is suspected of being hereditary.    SUSPECTED?    Oh yeah - my grandfather (their father) died from COPD.    The research at the NIH and CDC says that IPF can be misdiagnosed as COPD.    So, today, i spent about 45 minutes on the phone with a Pulmonary Geneticist at UTSWMC in Dallas and she says that this family's incidence of pulmonary problems is more rare than any other that she's heard of, so I'm talking to the family members about participating in their study to help find the cause and any possible treatments.   IPF has a 100% death rate, it seems like, from all of the literature I found today. More than half live less than 2.5 years from the time they are diagnosed.    Lung transplants help and add some time - but no cure.   My generation may or may not be ok as it supposedly may skip a generation - unless they smoke - and I did smoke for 21 years and quit 14 years ago, but I want them to find a cure before my sons get to their 50s. I want them to find the cause and cure before the children of my cousins get to their 50s. That is why I spent so long on the phone with the doctor heading up the study today and told her that I'm willing to do whatever I can do to convince my relatives on that side of the family to let them take a blood sample so they can study the DNA, from each.   They need the blood from the children of the Nolen's that have already passed, so they can study theirs as well.   So - I'm going to try to convince people in my family to let the doctor send someone to their home.

This brings me to the point of my story.    Molly was on the transplant list within 3 days - which is almost unheard of. They waited a couple of weeks and she had no fever up to that point and lungs became available. On that day, she obtained a fever and infection and that ruled out her getting a transplant.    I started thinking about the fact that I had updated my drivers license last year and didn't remember signing it, so I pulled it out and there was no place to sign it now.   I then did some research and found the following website:

http://www.organdonor.gov/donor/registry.shtm

I then went to the site and enrolled for not only organs, but also tissue.   I plan on having a closed casket when i die, so if there is nothing in that box other than my shoelaces, that will be fine with me. OK - just kidding as they do not have to disfigure the body in any way for viewing (but I'm serious about my being a closed casket anyway), but I want them to take everything they need to help others.

My plea to you is for you to go to this same site and enroll. Just having your driver's license signed may not be enough. If you're in an auto accident and your purse is destroyed, your wish needs to be on something other than a piece of plastic in your wallet.   Please consider this act of selflessness as you may very well save someone else's life and that is a blessing.

Oh yeah - I may someday ask you about your relationship to Jesus, so don't be surprised if I do.   It's much more important that you have the right answer when He asks than when I do.

Donald Jay (Don) Self

LIBERALS & CONSERVATIVES

2009-10-06T18:44:00Z

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, they don’t buy one. If a liberal doesn’t like guns, then no one should have one.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, they don’t eat meat. If a liberal is, they want to ban all meat products for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy. A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative is homosexual, they quietly enjoy their life. If a liberal is homosexual, they loudly demand legislated respect.

If a black man or Hispanic is conservative, they see themselves as independently successful. Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church. A liberal wants any mention of God or religion silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal expects taxpaying workers to pay for his.

A Tribute To Molly Joyce Stevens

2009-10-02T22:59:00Z

Everyone has someone in their family that makes a big impression in their life. I've been fortunate, as I've had several. One of them was my aunt Molly, who was my mom's youngest sister. She was born in 1950 (six years before I was) and we were very close.   If I was to try to find adjectives to describe her, I'd have to say "alive, fun, energetic, dynamic, spirited, strong willed (this is an Understatement), and vibrant.    Things were NEVER dull around Molly.   I grew up watching her enjoy life to it's fullest.   She was more of a cousin to me than an aunt, in the traditional sense, yet I always had a respect for her usually reserved for aunts and uncles.   She wasn't an aunt that would take me to church (I just pray that she had a relationship with Jesus and I chastise myself for never having a conversation with her about Him), but she would invite me to go with her and her friends to do things with them.

She gave birth to 3 great kids (Cindy, Tonya and Shannon) and 2 of them are still alive today and they spent the last couple of years by her side and that gave her great joy.

She will be missed by not only her family, but by many friends.   I love you Molly and I always will.

If there were ANY children in the vicinity of Molly (not only her own), she was involved with those children. She loved making people happy just about more than any other human that I've ever met.     She never backed down from anything, including life.   She only went forward.   5 years ago, the doctors gave her 3 to 5 years to live. That was on September 28, 2004.    She hit the 5 year mark this past week. Her birthday was September 30th, when she turned 59 years old.    If you're wondering, she had a pulmonary disease that took her life - but it will never take her from our memories.

Here are some other photos of a wonderful person.

We will miss you, Aunt Molly!